


Longings

by itsricecakes



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Confessions, Cute, Fairy Tail Rare Pairs Week 2020, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, One Shot, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:53:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24030853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsricecakes/pseuds/itsricecakes
Summary: The feeling of wanting something, no, someone so much was foreign to Macbeth and he didn’t know how to handle it.
Relationships: Cobra | Erik/Midnight
Comments: 3
Kudos: 24
Collections: Fairy Tail Rare Pairs Week 2020





	Longings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [soulstise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/soulstise/gifts).



Macbeth was warming up to the idea of feelings. He didn’t mind them as much compared to the past, where just feeling anything made him feel disgusting. But this was a new him. So he, along with his friends from Oracion Seis, were all trying their best to be better people. They each had different reasons for wanting to be better, but sometimes Macbeth didn't know himself why he tried. After becoming a part of Crime Sorcière, he felt himself start to slowly let down his walls.

It started with small gestures of appreciation toward his guildmates. Maybe he’d linger on them for a while longer than he used to, or maybe he’d let them see him genuinely smile more often. The lot of them were more than happy to see him open up. Like a cat, they knew that his small gestures meant a lot and it meant that he was trusting them.

One of his guildmates in particular, though, he could never seem to give enough affection. The rest he seemed content with just laying his arm on them for a second, but with this guildmate, it was never long enough. Like he needed to keep his hand on him for more than just a second. The guildmate under observation was Erik.

At first, Macbeth thought that maybe it was because he and Erik had been close growing up that he wanted to show him more affection than the rest. Nobody picked up that he favored contact with the dragon slayer over the rest. Well, he thought that until Jellal gave him a long look at one particular time. Later that day he was confronted.

“Macbeth?” the male knocked at his room door.

He simply gave a hum of acknowledgment before Jellal walked into the room.

“Is there anything you’d like to talk about?” He asked carefully.

“I can’t really think of anything…” he mumbled, playing dumb.

A soft smile set itself on Jellal’s lips as he made his way over to the bed where Macbeth was sitting. He sat down next to him and looked over, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

“Yes?” The black-haired mage asked, half annoyed by the look and half feigning cluelessness.

“Can I tell you a story?” The other male asked in response, shifting to lean back against the wall side of the bed.

Macbeth shrugged and brought his legs up on the bed, hugging his knees against his chest.

“It's a story about wanting something, or rather someone. Not just wanting them, but longing for them,” he started slowly.

The reflector mage shifted in his spot, playing with his braided section of hair anxiously.

“There was this guy, a total dumbass, who was longing for this girl he liked for a long time. He didn’t think he was worthy of her,” Jellal continued, a sad smile crossing his face. “He regretted a lot of stuff he did, and not only did he not think he was worthy of _her_ , but he also didn’t think he was worthy of love in general.”

At that, Macbeth pursed his lips together, his eyes shifting away from the other male and taking interest in an item he left disregarded on the floor.

“Even though people constantly reminded him that he should take a chance at love, he could never do it. He wanted to be worthy; to be a better person,” he scoffed. “In the end, he regretted it like the dumbass he was.”

“And the purpose of this story is?” The other male asked, his voice monotone with fake disinterest.

Jellal stared at Macbeth for a long moment, smiling more genuinely and widely. He patted him on the head and got up from his spot on the bed.

“Don’t make the same mistake that dumbass did. Don’t just long from afar, go get,” he replied, walking out the room with a wave.

Macbeth scoffed and tightened his grip on his legs. _Don’t make the same mistake, huh?_ He let himself think over that thought. Was he longing for Erik the same way Jellal described he longed for that red-headed Fairy Tail mage? He shook the thought away and rolled his eyes. That was ridiculous, and the blue-haired male was way off in any assumptions he was trying to make.

— —

Okay so maybe Jellal was a little right. Macbeth didn’t jump to any conclusions right away, but he knew he did not like this.

There had been a knock at the door and when Meredy went to open it, there stood a purple-haired female. There was a soft smile greeting them as she asked if Erik was there.

Again, Macbeth didn’t jump to any conclusions, but knowing that a _very pretty_ girl was looking for Erik made his stomach twist with uncomfort. Who was she? Why was she looking for Erik? What was her relation to him?

“He’s not here right now,” Macbeth snapped, harsher than he should’ve, he’d admit.

Her mouth dipped into a frown for only a second before she smiled again, “ah, I see. That’s fine, tell him Kinana was looking for him!”

She waved to leave but paused as a figure came up behind her at the door frame. It was Erik. His eyes lit up for a moment before he raised his hand to pat her head.

“Hey Kin, I didn’t know you were stopping by,” he greeted her.

Macbeth’s stomach tied itself into a knot when she turned around and grinned, “uh, yes you did? I see you forgot as usual.”

The dragon slayer shrugged his shoulders, “just cause I can hear everything doesn’t mean I chose to listen.”

“So rude!” She playfully smacked his arm with a laugh.

The interaction was so friendly, too friendly. Macbeth didn’t have the right to say that Erik couldn’t be friends with people, but he just wondered why he never mentioned her to him, or any of them. Were they together? He watched them go back and forth for a while longer, his eyes keeping track of how close they stood and where their hands were at all times. He found himself wishing that he was standing there instead of her, talking and laughing along with Erik.

When he had that thought he realized just how fucked he was. Jellal was definitely right. Macbeth got up from his spot and walked out the door, pushing past both Erik and Kinana. He had enough of just standing there and watching them.

“I’ll be back,” he muttered to the guild members.

He didn’t take off running, he just walked at a normal pace. He didn’t know where he was going, but he didn’t care, he just wanted to get away. At some point, he stopped and looked around. He was in a small clearing just outside the town. Macbeth sat down near a tree and leaned up against it.

“This is stupid,” he mumbled under his breath.

He was getting bent out of shape over nothing. Well, it wasn’t exactly nothing, but he didn’t fully understand if it was something.

Jellal’s story about the ‘dumbass’ was obviously about himself and the Fairy Tail woman, but had it been the same as him and Erik? He supposed the four of them had the same childhood situation, the only difference being that he and Erik had never been on opposite sides, they always stood together. But to want someone that same way, what did it mean? Did he want to be with him that way?

He thought about the possibility of being in a romantic relationship with Erik. Holding his hand, kissing him, being with him, and knowing that they belonged to each other. The thought made him flush from his neck up and he had his answer.

— —

Kinana came over more frequently after that. At first, it was after two weeks. Then it became once a week until finally, she was coming over multiple times in the same week. Macbeth was not jealous, not at all.

Okay so maybe a little.

The way the two talked to each other was just so friendly, exchanging looks and small gestures of affection. Sure, there was never any confirmation of a relationship and everything they did could’ve been between just friends, but it still made Macbeth upset.

He knew he didn’t have a right to be upset, he and Erik weren’t together so it wasn’t his right to say that he couldn’t build something with Kinana. It didn’t alleviate the way his heart twisted with pain. Macbeth started staying in his room more often, coming out for necessities like food or to use the bathroom. The other members of Crime Sorcière noticed, but they didn’t say anything at first. The first one to say something was Sorano.

“Beth! Open up,” she called from the other side of his door, knocking on it loudly.

He thought about ignoring her until she stopped and went away but he decided that she would not give up easily. He dragged himself from his bed and to the door, swinging it open.

“What?” He grumbled.

“Ah, so you are alive,” she hummed, stepping into his room without asking.

Macbeth rubbed his eyes from irritation and shut the door behind her, “what do you want?”

“Just checking up on you. You know, everyone is worried about your attitude recently.”

“I don’t have an attitude,” he scoffed.

She simply stared at him with a blank look and rolled her eyes.

“Sure… But anyway, I wanted to know what’s up, you haven’t talked to any of us for days,” she said, a worried tone starting to filter into her voice.

He opened his mouth to reply but then shut it. Sorano wasn’t the type to run away talking about everyone’s business. Sure, she was loud, but she was trustworthy. He opened his mouth once more to tell her the truth but quickly snapped it shut again, looking toward the door. If Erik were out there he could hear him, so he put up a spell around the room to block it out.

“All prepared to tell the truth?” She joked.

He glared at her before sighing and walking over to his bed, getting into a comfortable position. They say in silence for a few minutes, Macbeth trying to gather his thoughts.

“This is all Jellal’s fault,” was the first thing he mumbled.

Taken aback, Sorano stared at him with wide eyes before breaking out into laughter, “what? What did he do?”

Macbeth sighed, “it’s not actually his fault, but it’s his fault for bringing it to my attention.”

“Bringing what to your attention?” She asked carefully.

“These feelings, it’s so dumb.”

“Feelings?”

“Yeah… feelings… for—for Erik,” he muttered, dragging his hand down his face.

Sorano laughed again and put her hand on Macbeth’s shoulder, “oh, babe we could all tell, trust me.”

“Great, that makes me feel so much better, thanks,” he replied dryly.

She smiled softly and shifted closer to him, putting her arms around his shoulder and pulling him toward her, “sorry. But hey, I’m proud of you for finally realizing it!”

He faked annoyance and rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face.

“But you know, I do agree with what Jelly said, you should totally go for it,” she encouraged.

“Jelly?”

“Isn’t it the cutest nickname?! He always tells me to choose a different one but I’m refusing to.”

At that Macbeth let out a soft laugh and shook his head. The two talked for a little while longer, the reflector mage feeling better after the conversation.

He wanted to listen to them and ‘go for it’ as they suggested, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready for that quite yet. He didn’t even know if Erik would return the way he felt and the thought of messing up everything the two built up their entire lives was not appealing.

— —

“Beth, can you calm down,” Sorano said, putting her hand on his shoulder firmly.

“I am calm,” he mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

Just ten minutes ago everything was fine, Macbeth had come out of his room to actually talk to his friends for the first time in a while. He was fine with the situation until two people came through the door. It was Erik and Kinana, laughing as if they shared the funniest joke of the century. That didn’t send Macbeth over the edge, no, it was when they only came in for a second because Erik had forgotten something. They were going to leave together again and it boiled his insides. He confronted him about how much time he spent with Kinana and it turned into a rather loud back and forth.

“You don’t seem very calm,” Sorano sighed.

Erik and Macbeth stood on opposite sides of the room, Sorano and Kinana keeping them in place so they didn’t try to attack each other. The rest of the Crime Sorcière members watched in awe. Before this occurrence, the two of them never really argued at all.

Jellal was the one to break the staredown, marching between them and shooting them glares.

“The two of you, over here, now,” he stated, leaving no room for complaints.

They stared at each other for a moment longer before walking after Jellal. He went into a room apart from everyone else and stood there expectantly.

“Well? Care to explain what’s going on?” He asked.

“I don’t know what’s Macbeth’s problem,” Erik piped up first.

“I don’t have any problems, I was just stating a fact,” he replied.

Before they had time to break out into another fight Jellal placed his hands on their chests and let out a long sigh.

“I don’t want you two leaving this room until you makeup, I don’t want any fighting within the guild,” he finalized, leaving out the door and slamming it shut before they could voice any complaints.

Macbeth stared at the door where Jellal left before looking over at Erik, his stomach having that twisting feeling again. He walked over to a nearby chair and sat in it, moving so he didn’t face the dragon slayer.

“I think we both know how serious Jellal is about this,” Erik said.

Macbeth didn’t answer, staying silent and messing with his braid anxiously and avoiding eye contact.

“If we don’t talk about it we’re gonna be locked up in here for probably our entire lives,” he tried again.

“He’s gonna have to let us out eventually,” Macbeth said dully.

“Don’t underestimate the guy, I’m sure he’d feed us through the door,” Erik said, almost laughing.

After that it was silent once more, the faint conversation from the nearby room was the only thing Macbeth could hear.

“Why’d you come at me like that?” Erik finally asked.

“Whatever could you mean?” He hummed.

“You know what I mean! I spend so much time with you guys here, why is it so bad I’m hanging out with Kinana too?” He asked, stepping closer to the other male.

“It doesn’t even matter, it’s whatever. You can spend all the time with her you want,” he replied a little too harshly.

“You’re always so difficult! And I can’t ever understand what you want ‘cause you always have your thoughts blocked up!” He snapped back in frustration.

“Well, maybe I don’t want your nosy ears in my thoughts.”

“Well, maybe this would be solved quicker if I could hear your thoughts, especially since you never seem to share them with me!”

“You want me to share my thoughts with you? Fine. I think that you should just mosey your way on another date with Kinana. Hell, maybe you should join Fairy Tail, I’m sure they’d be happy to see you,” he spat back, finally facing Erik, furrowing his eyebrows and pursing his lips together tightly.

“If you think I’m dumb then you’re seriously mistaken, we’ve known each other for how long? You don’t think I can tell when you’re lying?” Erik replied.

“I’m not lying,” he said, his voice lowering down.

“Yeah, and I’m the smartest person on the planet,” he said sarcastically.

“I think that would be me, but don’t worry, you’re in the game for the stupidest person.”

Macbeth watched Erik’s facial expression change to offended for a moment before he closed his eyes and returned to a normal state.

“I don’t think we covered the problem just yet,” he said.

“And that would be?”

“I’m gonna take a wild guess and assume that it has to do with the fact that you think I’m going on dates with Kinana,” he said slowly.

Macbeth blinked and averted his eyes to the side, shifting away from him once more.

“Aren’t you?” He asked, keeping his feelings from pouring out in his words.

“No? Kinana is a friend, a long time friend at that. She was Cubellios,” he explained.

Macbeth was silent for a long moment, the news that they were not indeed together was relieving, but now he realized that he’d overacted in the situation. He seriously let his feelings get the best of him there.

“Well I mean that’s good for you two, I guess,” he said as nonchalantly as he could, trying to get the conversation over with.

“Why did you get so bent out of shape about it?” Erik pressed the subject.

“I told you, it’s whatever, I was just wondering that you spent a lot of time with her and it was strange that it came about randomly is all,” he muttered.

“Why do you care who I spend my time with?”

Macbeth stood up straighter in his chair and shifted uncomfortably, “I don’t.”

“Maybe you should stop lying, look at me, and tell me the truth. You’re usually so blunt with the truth.”

“I’m not lying.”

“We’ve literally been friends since we were kids,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

“And what a fine friendship that was, huh?” He mocked.

“You’re avoiding the question!”

Erik walked over to Macbeth and looked at him for a long moment, “look at me.”

“Why?” He replied.

“Just do it!”

Hesitantly, Macbeth turned his head, making eye contact with Erik and wanting to look away immediately, but he didn’t.

“Let down your magic,” the dragon slayer said.

“Why? I told you before I don’t want your nosy ears in my thoughts,” he said.

Erik leaned forward and put his hands on his shoulders and stared at him determinedly, “just do it or I swear I’ll get Jellal!”

“Alright, alright, Jesus,” he muttered, taking his magic down.

Macbeth kept his thoughts focused, not letting them wander around. He even tried to think of one word and keep himself repeating and only thinking about it.

“Why do you care if I spent time with Kinana?” Erik asked the second he could hear his thoughts filter through his ears.

A resounding _‘fuck’_ was the first thing Macbeth could think of. He tried not to let his thoughts answer the question but when he tried to form his response he kept going back.

“I don’t care,” he mumbled.

_I didn’t want you spending time with her._

“Why didn’t you want me to spend time with her?” He asked.

“I don’t care if you do or don’t!”

_I felt jealous every time you walked out the door with her._

Erik stepped back, his eyes wide. Macbeth got up from the chair and put his magic up again, walking for the door until the dragon slayer caught his arm.

“Let me go,” was all the reflector mage said.

“Why were you jealous?” He asked instead of letting go.

“I wasn’t. I’m not.”

“Your thoughts told me otherwise,” he scoffed, tugging on his arm to pull him back.

Macbeth turned back to Erik and snatched his arm away, pulling it against his own chest protectively.

“My thoughts are wrong then!” He replied.

“Your thoughts can't be wrong, they're literally the embodiment of you, without any filters,” he said.

“I don’t care, they’re wrong.”

Erik stepped closer to the other male, his mouth dropping into a frown, “can you please just tell me the truth?” He asked, voice so soft that it made Macbeth feel extremely guilty.

He wanted to reach out and grab his arm and pull him closer to him. He longed to feel those lips on his for the first time. But he didn’t know if he should, what if it ruined everything? They had been friends for so long, and he didn’t want this dumb feeling to be the end of it. He stepped back and shook his head.

“Why not?” Erik asked.

“It doesn’t even matter what the truth is, you should just drop it. Everything will be back to normal tomorrow,” he said simply with a shrug, pushing his feelings down.

“What if I never drop it? We’d be stuck in this room forever until you tell me. I’d keep causing problems so Jellal will keep us locked in here until we sort it out,” Erik said.

“You’re so immature,” Macbeth scoffed, but that immaturity was one of the reasons why he felt strongly about him.

“Says the one who refuses to talk about his feelings,” he pointed back at him.

“Not getting feelings into matters is professional!” He shot back.

“Yeah, maybe in a ‘professional’ setting, but this is between friends, you can afford to be a little more emotional and personal yaknow,” Erik raised his eyebrow.

“That always sucks though…” he mumbled.

“Too bad, suck it up and be honest with me,” he stated firmly.

Macbeth gave him a long stare, the voices of Jellal and Sorano filtering into his mind, telling him to just do it unless he would regret it. He wanted to snap back at those voices but he just sighed. He closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts, and opened them back up.

“Whatever, as if I have anything to lose,” he muttered, which was a lie since he had plenty to lose, he could lose Erik.

Instead of opening his mouth to respond again, Macbeth let down his magic, letting his thoughts flow freely for Erik to hear, averting his gaze to the floor.

_‘I hate the way you make me feel, but I'm addicted to it. The want for you is so strong that I hate it. Every time I see you with Kinana I long to be in her place, laughing with you and sharing my feelings with you.’_

Macbeth rubbed his forehead in frustration, slowly lifting his eyes from the floor and making eye contact with Erik. He pursed his lips together determinedly and let one last thought out for him to hear.

_‘I think I love you.’_

Then his magic was back up and Erik couldn’t hear anything anymore. He watched as the dragon slayer processed what was thrown at him, he didn’t blame the delayed reaction, he was sure that someone telling you that they loved you was unexpected. But at the same time, he did blame Erik, blaming him for making him develop his feelings this way and being so determined to hear them now.

“So are you gonna stand there in shock forever or?” Macbeth said, breaking the silence.

Erik looked at him, the shock fading into a soft expression that he couldn’t quite decipher. Before he could try to analyze what his face meant or what to say next the dragon slayer stepped forward and pulled Macbeth into a hug.

“What— What are you doing?” The reflector mage asked, startled from the sudden contact.

“It’s called a hug you idiot,” he said.

“I know what a hug is, dipshit. But why—?”

“I’m just happy,” he said simply, burying his face into the other's shoulder and neck.

“Happy about what?”

Erik pulled back and gave him a long look, “you seriously suck at picking up any sort of social cues,” he almost laughed before placing his hands on both his cheeks and pulling him in for a gentle kiss.

Macbeth was caught off guard, the situation clicking in his mind but he just didn’t believe it. Was Erik really kissing him? _Him?!_ He didn’t waste any time responding to the kiss, pushing deeper into it, trying to show just how much he longed for this moment.

When they separated they stared at each other for a long moment. Macbeth was still trying to understand that Erik really did kiss him.

“Does that mean that you feel the same way?” He asked; he wasn’t going to be sure until he got confirmation.

Erik laughed at that, shaking his head in fondness, “yes, it means I feel the same way.”

Macbeth couldn’t stop the smile that broke out across his face and the relief that washed over him, and then suddenly, “wait, I can’t believe those two idiots were right!”

“Who?” The other male asked.

“Jellal and Sorano, they knew about how I felt and told me to just go for it, or I’d regret it,” he explained.

“Speaking of telling people how you felt, that’s why I was spending so much time with Kinana. She’s much more experienced with this whole feelings crap and she was trying to get me to a point where I’d be able to tell you,” Erik explained, scratching the back of his neck.

“Glad to know how stupid we both are,” Macbeth smiled lightly.

Erik then looked over at the door. He put his finger to his mouth to signal for Macbeth to not say anything and walked over to the door, grabbing the knob and turning it slowly before swinging it open. Sorano, Meredy, Kinana, and even Sawyer of all people tumbled onto the floor, Jellal and Richard standing behind them trying to muffle their laughter.

“We told you not to get too close to the door,” Jellal sighed, shaking his head.

“So did you guys forget how good my hearing is or what?” Erik asked, raising his eyebrow.

“It’s Kinana’s fault! She was making too much noise!” Sorano said quickly.

“I was getting excited, don’t blame me!”

Macbeth watched them bicker back and forth about who’s fault it was that they got caught not even noticing the fond smile that made its way over his face. After they all stopped Sorano made her way over to Macbeth and threw her arms around him, shaking him excitedly.

“I’m so proud of you, Beth! Sure you guys were absolutely dumb the entire time, but you got there in the end,” she exclaimed happily.

Each member of Crime Sorcière and Kinana were overjoyed by the getting together of the two friends. They almost thought they’d never get there.

Since then Macbeth showed his affection for Erik ten times as much as before. Sometimes the other members, specifically Sorano, got jealous that his boyfriend got all his attention. He did make sure to show that he still loved them all, but Erik was just too special to show that same treatment.

**Author's Note:**

> this is for fairy tail rare pair week 2020 day four: longings !!! macbeth and erik are really underrated and adorable
> 
> this was mostly for my friend who really loves midco and i love her lots and wanted to write her a midco one-shot !!


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